Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 180,130 Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 180,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,069,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.15% of Jacobs Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of J. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,988,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,649,000 after purchasing an additional 449,161 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 15,913.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 448,860 shares of the company's stock worth $59,977,000 after acquiring an additional 446,057 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 479,452 shares of the company's stock worth $64,065,000 after acquiring an additional 278,777 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Jacobs Solutions by 956.8% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 264,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,386,000 after purchasing an additional 239,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Jacobs Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $23,916,000. Institutional investors own 85.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on J. Citigroup cut their price target on Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $141.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Jacobs Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.14.

Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:J traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $121.28. 142,145 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,670. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.23 and a 52 week high of $156.31. The firm has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $121.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Jacobs Solutions (NYSE:J - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Jacobs Solutions had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 4.28%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Jacobs Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Jacobs Solutions's payout ratio is 26.39%.

Jacobs Solutions declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, February 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Jacobs Solutions

Jacobs Solutions Inc provides consulting, technical, engineering, scientific, and project delivery services for the government and private sectors in the United States, Europe, Canada, India, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Critical Mission Solutions, People & Places Solutions, Divergent Solutions, and PA Consulting segments.